Kosovo's "supervised independence" ends

BELGRADE The International Steering Group (ISG) for Kosovo has announced that it will on Monday officially proclaim the end of Kosovo's "supervised independence". It and the International Civilian Office (ICO) are set to hold their final session in Pristina. Kosovo's "supervised independence" ends All of the preparations for holding a special assembly session have been made, and the session will be held in the government building in the afternoon, after the ISG's decision. The session will be attended by numerous international guests, including former UN special envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari. In keeping with the Group's decision, on Sept. 7 the Kosovo assembly adopted 22 amendments to the Kosovo Constitution, which paved the way to ending Kosovo's supervised independence, coupled with a law extending EULEX's mandate until mid-2014. The ISG - composed of the United States, Turkey, and 22 EU countries that recognized Kosovo - on July 2 decided to allow the Kosovo institutions in Pristina to adopt necessary legislation in order to conclude the period of supervised independence. The meeting's conclusions at the time said that the Ahtisaari plan should continue to be implemented, while the group would in exchange continue with its support to Kosovo with the goal of further international recognition and membership in relevant international organizations. Meanwhile, Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said that the decision to end supervised independence was "the greatest international recognition". The EU mission, EULEX, will continue to operate in Kosovo with some 3,000 people, as will the peacekeeping mission of NATO, KFOR, with 5,600 soldiers. Kosovo's ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence in February 2008, and based this the plan put together by Ahtisaari. The plan, however, was never approved by the UN Security Council, while Serbia rejected the proclamation as illegal. The territory is recognized as independent by 22 out of EU's 27 member-states, as well as by the U.S. - but not by Russia and China, and remains outside the United Nations. "Serbs can't expect anything good" Head of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin said on Monday that Serbs could not expect anything good to come from the end of supervised independence, because greater independence of the interim institutions in Pristina did not instill confidence and hope. Vulin told Tanjug that past examples have shown that whenever the Pristina institutions had been allowed to decide independently from the international community, "we have seen only injustice and violation of every rule and law." "If the international community sees the end of supervised independence as an opportunity to get out of what it has created itself, to scale back its presence and let the interim institutions in Pristina make decisions about themselves in the same way they have been deciding about the lives and fate of Serbs and other non-Albanians, it would be a historic and tragic mistake," said Vulin. He said the end of supervised independence planned for Monday instilled fear about how the situation would develop and expressed concerned about the safety of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo. B92 Beta Tanjug

Kosovo's "supervised independence" ends

All of the preparations for holding a special assembly session have been made, and the session will be held in the government building in the afternoon, after the ISG's decision.

The session will be attended by numerous international guests, including former UN special envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari.

In keeping with the Group's decision, on Sept. 7 the Kosovo assembly adopted 22 amendments to the Kosovo Constitution, which paved the way to ending Kosovo's supervised independence, coupled with a law extending EULEX's mandate until mid-2014.

The ISG - composed of the United States, Turkey, and 22 EU countries that recognized Kosovo - on July 2 decided to allow the Kosovo institutions in Priština to adopt necessary legislation in order to conclude the period of supervised independence.

The meeting's conclusions at the time said that the Ahtisaari plan should continue to be implemented, while the group would in exchange continue with its support to Kosovo with the goal of further international recognition and membership in relevant international organizations.

Meanwhile, Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said that the decision to end supervised independence was "the greatest international recognition".

The EU mission, EULEX, will continue to operate in Kosovo with some 3,000 people, as will the peacekeeping mission of NATO, KFOR, with 5,600 soldiers.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence in February 2008, and based this the plan put together by Ahtisaari. The plan, however, was never approved by the UN Security Council, while Serbia rejected the proclamation as illegal.

The territory is recognized as independent by 22 out of EU's 27 member-states, as well as by the U.S. - but not by Russia and China, and remains outside the United Nations.

"Serbs can't expect anything good"

Head of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin said on Monday that Serbs could not expect anything good to come from the end of supervised independence, because greater independence of the interim institutions in Priština did not instill confidence and hope.

Vulin told Tanjug that past examples have shown that whenever the Priština institutions had been allowed to decide independently from the international community, "we have seen only injustice and violation of every rule and law."

"If the international community sees the end of supervised independence as an opportunity to get out of what it has created itself, to scale back its presence and let the interim institutions in Priština make decisions about themselves in the same way they have been deciding about the lives and fate of Serbs and other non-Albanians, it would be a historic and tragic mistake," said Vulin.

He said the end of supervised independence planned for Monday instilled fear about how the situation would develop and expressed concerned about the safety of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo.